Temperature Quilt

Moving right along, I'm starting a new quilt. Though this one is really different from any I've made before. Have you heard of temperature quilts? They've been around for at least three years, and temperature versions can be crocheted or knitted or embroidered as well. After seeing a whole bunch of quilts crop up on Instagram (see #temperaturequilt) I decided to join in.

Basically what you're making is a quilt that's assembled with 365 two-color patches that represent daily - for one year - high and low temperatures of some location. Not surprisingly, I am making a 2019 quilt using temperatures from The Villages.

To make your own quilt you first need to find historic weather data on the place you choose, to learn what the high and low temperatures have been. Where I live, the range is about 60 degrees (92 to 32). You can usually find this sort of data on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website, but due to the federal government shutdown, the website isn't operational. 

Based on the range, temperatures are broken into units of five or four or three degree increments. Then, select 18 to 22 different fabrics that may be solids or prints, and assigned a fabric to each increment. In my case, I am going with three degree temperature increments, assigning 20 solids (one is missing because I need to order it) to them. 

Using my iPhone and the Wunderground app, each day I've been tracking local weather high and local temperatures. I'm recording that info on an Excel spreadsheet I created on my iPhone as reference for block-making later. 

The two-color block I chose is a sort of Drunkard's Path made with the Classic Curve Ruler. Convex curves are the high temperatures and concave curves are the low. I'll assemble these four-inch blocks in vertical columns, and turn the block up or down according to whether the high temperature is higher or lower than the previous day. 

 

The vertical columns make photos challenging! 

When I've made 21 patches, I'll start another column... until I have 18 columns to make a total of 378 patches. Yes, that's too many than the 365 days of the year, but if I make month markers for 12 months, I'll have only one block extra to make of something - maybe the color key for the quilt. No doubt this will evolve as I go along, but right now the quilt will turn out at around 72" X 84".

It's been fun to see what other blocks quilters are making - flying geese, half-square triangles, improv rectangles, circles appliquéd on a square, English paper-pieced hexagons, and so on. Every quilt is different of course, so the outcome is a surprise. 

I decided I wanted to be sure to include the 2019 Kaufman Kona Color of The Year (COTY) in my temperature quilt, so I bought some - Yes! This was the first time I've bought fabric since last May! Kona's COTY is "Splash," as seen on the right. It's too perfect for a Floridian, isn't it. 

Painter's Palette Solids color card next to Kona Splash

Please note that if you buy Splash (or any Kona for that matter), be sure to prewash it! It bleeds. I washed Splash yardage with a color catcher that was distinctly aqua when it came out of the washing machine.

My favorite brand of solid fabrics is Painter's Palette, but unfortunately there's no color that's close to Splash. Hence the reason I purchased several yards. 

I'm looking forward to making this quilt through 2019, though perhaps by August or so I'll be sick of it, especially when the daily temperatures aren't varying. Maybe monotonous? 

If you'd like more information about making a temperature quilt, visit Anina's blog - TwiddleTails. Anina, who lives in Des Moines, Iowa (!), is leading a temperature quilt-along, and has lots of helpful information on her blog. It's certainly not too late to get started!

It feels good to be working on something new and fun! Linda